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Jetwing Warwick Gardens is a century-old Scottish-style planter's bungalow with just five bedrooms, set on a 30-acre tea estate at Ambewela, 5,782 feet up in the hills south-east of Nuwara Eliya. Built in the Edwardian style for a Scottish tea planter and restored by Jetwing Hotels with architect Channa Daswatte, it is run less like a hotel than a private country house: one dining table, a library, a piano in the living room and working fireplaces against nights that can fall to 5°C.
The bungalow has five individually furnished bedrooms, each with a private bathroom, an individual heating unit, tea and coffee making facilities, an electronic safe and Link Natural toiletries. They are sold in three categories, and the names below are the ones you will see when you choose a room.
Every room sleeps two adults. An extra bed for a third guest can be arranged in the Master and White rooms, but not in the Deluxe rooms. With only five rooms, a family or a group of friends booking several of them will have the house largely to themselves.
Meals are served in the dining room at an antique mahogany table beneath a chandelier, and the chef discusses menus with guests rather than working from a fixed card, cooking Sri Lankan dishes or international favourites as you prefer. Much of what reaches the table comes from the estate's own orchard and organic farm, including the milk and eggs at breakfast. Jetwing also offers six signature dining experiences, from picnics and campfire dinners to high tea and meals laid out on the lawn, and there is a well-stocked bar and a wine cellar.
The Warwick Estate tea tour takes you into the surrounding tea, where you can try hand-plucking the leaves yourself before tasting the finished brew. The staff can also arrange guided nature walks, cookery demonstrations and bicycle rides through the surrounding countryside. Indoors there is a library, a television lounge with a DVD library, board games and the living-room piano. Wi-Fi is free, and butler service, room service, laundry and a doctor on call are available.
Ambewela is often called Sri Lanka's "Little New Zealand" for its open dairy pastures, and Ambewela Farm is only a few kilometres down the road, as are the Ambewela windmills. The entrance to Horton Plains National Park, where a morning walk leads to the escarpment at World's End, is around 11 kilometres away as the crow flies, and Hakgala Botanical Gardens is closer still. Nuwara Eliya town and Lake Gregory are about 9 to 10 kilometres away in a straight line. Walkers can pick up stretches of the Pekoe Trail, the long-distance path through the tea country.
Yes. The nearest stations on the hill-country Main Line are Ambewela, about 2.8 kilometres away in a straight line, and Pattipola, about 4.7 kilometres away, which is the highest station on the Sri Lankan rail network. Arrange a pick-up with the bungalow or with us in advance, as the final approach is a narrow estate road through the Warwick tea fields.
The bungalow is about 175 kilometres from Colombo, a drive of roughly five hours through the tea country; from Bandaranaike International Airport, north of the city, allow a little longer. The simplest way to arrive is a private transfer from Colombo airport to Jetwing Warwick Gardens, which takes you all the way to the door.
It suits couples and small groups who want somewhere quiet, personal and cool, with time by the fire and walks in the hills, rather than a large resort with a pool and a busy restaurant. Two or three nights gives you time for Horton Plains, the tea tour and a slow day at the house. For more choice in the area see our places to stay in Nuwara Eliya, or the other Jetwing hotels around the island.
Bookable activities, tours, and tickets within a 25 km radius.
Pre-book a private vehicle for arrival, departure, or onward travel.
